Violent Kin Interview

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Sibling-team Maygen and S.J. Kardash of Violent Kin, Saskatoon’s most photogenic band, are about to drop their newest album, entitled People, at their CD release party at Amigos, October 8.

Following up their first album Bitter Blood, in addition to last year’s Velvet Hideout EP, Violent Kin have progressed in a relatively short time. In addition to their month-long residency in New York and keeping a relatively active touring schedule, the duo have since learned how to push their limits while retaining a unique sound, says Maygen.

“Our basic song writing style has stayed the same but the big difference is that for People we decided early on that the album would have a motif of communication and humanity running through it,” says Maygen. “Not that we’re claiming our work to be some big psychological art project – it’s not as intense as all that – but we did think about what it means for us to be a human and to connect with other humans, and it was a good challenge to have that self-set guideline to write by.”

“Minus a week where S.J.’s studio had mice and another week where he opened up his rotten, unplugged fridge and the whole place stunk like corpses, People ended up being the most luxurious and happy album-making experience we’ve had,” she continues.

As evidenced by the teaser track, entitled “Almost Innocent”, the duo are anything but. Full of sleazy ‘80s guitar licks and breathy vocals, Violent Kin have managed to mix a stiff shot of epic synth rock with luxurious indie-new wave, all the while retaining a sly cool typically reserved for bands named Duran Duran.

That or they might have just been caught watching Miami Vice reruns while conducting living room dance parties.

And despite preliminarily publishing the album on iTunes just short of the official release date, People is already taking massive strides on alternative radio charts, says Maygen.

“Making an album is really personal but releasing an album is just taking a good guess at who wants to hear it and gifting it to them, kind of like a reverse Secret Santa,” says Maygen. “Luckily the album landed in the hands of folks who liked it a lot, which means People is getting play on a few Sirius XM stations, charting on some Canadian college stations and has garnered some really nice reviews in various publications and blogs.

“All in all, our mother’s subscription to Google Alerts of Violent Kin is paying off in the maternal pride department,” she continues. “Which is great, because lord knows that could have gone either way.”

With People already available, the duo are now in the midst of making plans to bring the new album onstage.

“We played a couple shows in Alberta and Manitoba last week and it whetted our appetite for performing,” says Kardash. “Look for us especially soon if you’re in Regina or Saskatoon as that’s our weekend forecast.”